Sabaku no Karura: The Sand Reunites
by KaoruKasumi
Summary: What if the 1 tails was never sealed? - The Sand village is under attack again, and the Kazekage is captured by the Akatsuki. On the verge of death and talking to Shukaku in his head, he reveals a jutsu he knows, the reanimation ninjutsu. Could it be, Gaara is finally going to meet his mother? And what happens to Sunagakure when they appoint a new Kazekage?
1. Chapter 1

PLEASE READ THIS FIRST. About this story, I wrote the first chapter before i even started watching Shippuden, so alot of things here are a bit off. I kind of made my own way with it. I tried to fix some things, but if you see something that isnt entirely right just ignore it, it's all supposed to be like that in the end. As the title suggests you will see Karura, but only in like 2 chapters or so. Towards the end there will be some things involving her but it's not ENTIRELY about their meeting.

Sabaku no Karura: The Sand Reunites

* * *

"Go! Protect the village!" The people of Sunakagure fight to the death to keep the Akatsuki out of the village.

"Inform the Kazekage! We need him here!" A group of Jonin, including Baki, is sent off to find the Kazekage. Moments later they arrive at the Kazekage's office.

"Gaara, we need you. The village is under attack." Baki says to Gaara.

"I know. Go fight. I'll be right there." Gaara puts down a stack of papers and gets up, grabbing his gourd of sand and looking out of the window.

"Gaara! NOW!" Baki says, ordering him like he was still the young Kazekage's sensei. Gaara glares at Baki and the cork comes off of his gourd without him even moving a muscle. Baki notices the threat and runs out of the office. Gaara looks out the window and sighs. He straps the gourd to his back and jumps out the window, gaining distance to the attack quicker than Baki could.

Gaara arrived at the front gate in no time, and was prepared to fight to protect his village. He stood on the wall by the front gate and used his sand to take down a bunch of crows, while the villagers used their own jutsu. Two of the Akatsuki, Deidara and Kisame Hoshigaki, stayed behind with Itachi Uchiha to protect him while he recovers his used chakra. The rest of the cloaked organization snuck into the village, killing everyone in their way. There were so many crows that Gaara couldn't see the Akatsuki entering the village until he cleared enough of them in his path to notice a flash of black and red clothing – the famous black cloaks with red clouds on them. The symbol of the Akatsuki. He jumped down onto the ground in front of them and raised both of his hands, his palms facing upward. Sand rose from the ground under the enemies and created a ditch. The sand that used to be there was now above them. They all just stood there calmly, not even phased.

"It's over." Gaara flipped his hands palms down and lowered his arms abruptly, kneeling in the process and creating small craters in the ground where his hands came down. Sand poured over the Akatsuki and almost buried them alive. Within a few seconds, a figure approached Gaara. It was none other than Itachi Uchiha, user of the Mangekyo Sharingan. Of course he was using it, and staring dead on at Gaara. The young Kazekage got trapped in his genjutsu and fell to the ground. Itachi used his chakra to push out from his body, throwing all the nearby villagers onto the ground. The sand was raised and Itachi's comrades rose.

"Seize him. We leave now." Itachi said calmly. Gaara was barely conscious, so he couldn't move. He couldn't defend himself at all.

_Why did you let him get to you? Do you realize now what they're going to do to me? They're going to take me from you. Then we both die. Hopefully, just you. Maybe they'll release me… Hah, probably._

_Shukaku, shut up you idiot. It was your fault, you didn't give me warning of his Mangekyo Sharingan.. _

_How was I supposed to know about his Sharingan, being trapped in your body and not finding out for myself?_

_I don't care, Shukaku. Just shut up and leave me alone! _

_I know you're thinking of his eyes. They're the same as yours._

_You're right. They are just like mine. Full of hatred. He has enough of that. It is what makes him powerful. If only I possessed the Sharingan, then we would both be the same._

_Right you are, Gaara. But you screwed up and let that Naruto kid get to you. You became Kazekage. I thought your only purpose was to kill? Why protect those stupid, weak little people?_

_Because.. I never had anyone there to protect me but you, Shukaku. By sealing you inside of me, my mother gave me your strength. Your defense. I admit I have never once thanked you for that. I do now. Thank you Shukaku. You're what kept me alive all these years…_

_Hah, you're damn right! You owe me one, Gaara._

_Sure._

* * *

When Gaara finally woke up, he didn't know where he was. The room was dark – only lit by a few candles. The room was circular and made of stone – probably a cave. What was he doing in a cave? And what were those whispering voices he heard? Gaara slowly opened his eyes, blinked a few times, and saw them. They were gathered in a circle around him, their hands in a tiger seal and their voices chanting, their chakras producing an aura.

"Wha- What is this.." He couldn't quite keep his eyes open, so he closed them. He felt ropes around his wrists and ankles, and even around his waist. He was laying on his back on a stone table in the middle of the room, surrounded by the Akatsuki. They were performing a ceremony for taking Shukaku out of the sand ninja.

_So, you're finally awake?_

_Yeah… What's going on.._

_I told you before. They're taking my chakra out of you. I can feel my soul slipping away…Gaara… please…you'll die.. If you let me take over, I can get them. I'm dying to kill. You haven't killed a single person in over 3 days, and I'm getting.. hungry._

_Alright.._

Gaara released Shukaku's chakra and parts of him transformed, and he suddenly opened his eyes and ripped the ropes from his hands and feet. He took a kunai and cut the rope around his waist. All within just a few seconds. He made such little noise that the Akatsuki didn't even notice he broke free, until Itachi opened his eyes and threw a kunai. Gaara's sand shield came into play. His eyes were Shukaku's. Gaara produced sand shurikens and threw them all at once towards each of the Akatsuki without even moving. They all dodged the attack at the same time. Gaara laughed, but it was Shukaku's voice. Not Gaara's. He looked around for an exit, but he couldn't find one. So he made his own. Sand started to penetrate the wall in front of him, digging a hole into the side of the cave. The Akatsuki continued to throw their ninja tools at the demon, but the sand was always there to protect him. Gaara was still heavily sedated so his movement was slower than normal, even with Shukaku controlling his body. Shukaku put so much effort and sand into penetrating the wall in front of him that a poison blade kunai slipped through his sand barrier and cracked his last-resort sand cover. The Akatsuki continued to throw poisoned kunais until one actually reached his skin. By that time, Shukaku had created an exit and ran as far away as he could. He ended up collapsing in a safer spot, where the Akatsuki wouldn't find him. He let Gaara take over and rest.

_Shukaku… Why didn't they use ninjutsu on me while I was still in the cave…_

_They channeled all of their chakra into taking me out of you. I assume they didn't have much left, and were almost to absolute zero. It takes much chakra to take the tailed beast out of its Jinchuuriki. It's also a painful process to the demon inside. I've gone through it before I was sealed inside of you._

_I see… Shukaku... I am poisoned... I don't know if I will live much longer... Shukaku, you will die alongside me, my demon. If there is nothing else you can do then comfort me while I die, mother…_

_Wait Gaara. There is one thing I can do…_

_What is it?_

_You're gonna hate me for this. You're going to wish I did it sooner. But it was a last chance thing, it will kill part of me to do it. You will not be as strong as you used to be, even with the help of my chakra. You will no longer have the sand defenses of its own power, you're going to have to use your own chakra to create defenses. Are you sure you want me do to this?_

_What are you talking about Shukaku? As long as you're inside of me then I will always have the sand and its power._

_No Gaara…. Well, unless she can heal you fully and give you her power, you will not be as strong. _

_She?_

_Sabaku no Karura. Gaara, it's your mother. I can summon her spirit and give her a form of sand so she can heal you._

_You…you can? _

_Yes, in your shinobi world it would be considered a forbidden jutsu. The only person alive who knows it is Orochimaru._

_He can summon my mother?_

_Yes, he can summon anyone back from the dead. Your mother is of no use to him so he probably has never summoned her before. But Gaara, to do this I need all of your chakra. I need to drain you of it. You being my Jinchuuriki, I need to kill you first. _

_How do I know you're not just gonna kill me and then leave to go be a living sand demon like you used to be?_

_If I did, they would only seal me back inside of the tea jar. They wouldn't give me another Jinchuuriki, seeing how I always transform a person into a killing machine. _

_I see. Well. Get on with it then. I'm not done living and killing, and my people need me. _

_Yeah, Yeah, shut up about 'your people'. They're weak._

_Maybe I shouldn't give you my chakra to revive us both._

_Sorry. I take it back. Just hurry up and give me your chakra, boy. _

_Very well then… _

* * *

Then, the transformation started. As Gaara released more chakra, the demon inside him grew stronger. He gave him every last bit of chakra he had left. He was so weak, he could barely move at all. Gaara had never felt anything like this, and it made him sad. He felt his soul slipping away from his body, and realized he would die soon. Just in case, he silently thanked his siblings.

_Kankuro, my brother…take care of Temari… Don't let anything happen to her… Or my village.. All throughout my life I thought my purpose of living was to kill just to prove my existence… but then I realized, it wasn't to kill, but to protect everyone else even if it means you die. But now I know, I was wrong both times… We aren't meant to protect everyone. We're meant to protect only the ones who come into our lives at some point and change it for the better. The ones who create us. Who make us stronger. _

And then, he was dead.

_Gaara, honey….. wake up… _

_….._

_…._

_Gaara!_

_…._

_…_

_GAARA! _

_I….I hear someone….a voice….a person… but…who is it…who could be calling out to me right now..? _

_Please, Gaara, my son, wake up! _

_"My son?" W-who is this? Could it be… Mother? _


	2. Chapter 2

He slowly opened his eyes. They were blurry for a few seconds, but he blinked it away. He sat up. He was in a dimension with a giant cage in front of him. He had seen this place before, in a dream. In many dreams. He heard heavy breathing coming from behind the cage. But it was too dark to see anything. He stood up, feeling his way around. He was standing in liquid… liquid? Yes, some sort of liquid chakra. He began to walk forward, towards the cage. He wanted to see what was inside. But a hand grabbed his, stopping him. He turned around and stared at something he couldn't believe was in front of him. It was his mother, Karura.

_"_Gaara, my son!" She pulled him in for a hug. His eyes were wide and his arms hung by his side. He didn't know what to do, or what to think.

"M-mother?" She let him go and looked at him with tender eyes. Looking away, she began talking to the cage.

"Shukaku. Is it time?"

"Karura. It's been a long time since I last saw you. Yes milady, it is time." A raspy voice spoke from behind the cage. Gaara instantly recognized it as Shukaku's.

"Alright then. Gaara, love, please participate." She pulled out a headband from her weapons pouch. Tying it around her head, she sat down right in front of her son in the chakra pool. Gaara followed lead and sat in front of her. Karura formed a tiger hand seal and began drawing chakra from the pool. It filled her chakra network until she couldn't draw in anymore. "I'm ready, Shukaku. Gaara?"

"Y-yes..?" he was caught off guard. Was he supposed to be preparing for something?

"Are you ready?" she smiled at him. Gaara's heart melted seeing her do that. His mother sat right before his eyes, smiling at him. He didn't know what to think. Normally he would've felt like it was a dream, but no. This was reality. And he knew it.

After drawing in chakra to his limits, Gaara confirmed that he was ready. Ready for what, he didn't know. He just knew that whatever his mother had planned would be best for him. Gaara was just happy he could see his mother at least once in his life.

"Alright. We're all ready. Gaara, love, stay there. Do exactly as I say." She closed her eyes and began to stand up. It was a few seconds before she finally broke the tiger seal and quickly performed about 100 hand signs before biting her thumb and placing her hand on top of the water.

A big wave of chakra flooded the room, throwing Gaara off balance. He was now looking at the ground, heavily breathing, one knee down and the other half way there. His left hand was in the water, balancing him. Karura stepped back and let the summoned shinobi take a look at his surroundings.

"Karura, where are we?" he turned around and stood by Karura. After kissing him, she gestured to Gaara on the ground. Recognizing the voice, Gaara slowly moved his head up to look at them. His eyes went wide as he saw both of his parents looking down upon him, smiling. His dad was smiling. At _him._

"D-dad? M-mother?" He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It just wasn't possible. It has to be one of Shukaku's nightmares. It has to be.

"Yes, son. It's us. And before we move on, I just want to let you know that I'm proud of you. You replaced me when I was gone. You're the one who saved my village. No, our village. You were always meant to be the Kazekage, Gaara. I apologize for the way I used to treat you. You turned out so well." He didn't know what to do. What to think. Whether to be happy or mad. His life was miserable because of his father. He had no one. He stood up to make sure he was okay, and then looked down and started to cry. His parents moved in and hugged him. Gaara liked the feeling. If only Temari and Kankuro were there, they'd be a family again.

Seeing Gaara cry brought tears to his mother's eyes. His father was being gentle for once, and embraced both his wife and his son in his arms. They stayed like that until Gaara stopped crying. He closed his eyes and put on a straight face. He didn't think he could stay mad at his father when both his parents stood in front of him like they were.

"Karura. Gaara. Yondaime Kazekage. You three are ready, are you not?"

"We're ready." Karura said in a sad tone of voice. She nodded at her husband and her son.

"Gaara, lay down."

"L-lay down? In the pool?"

"Yes, love. In the pool." Gaara laid down in the pool in front of his parents and closed his eyes. He didn't need to hold his breath, the pool was very shallow. Karura then kneeled down next to her Kazekage son and placed both hands on him. Yondaime Kazekage did the same thing, on the opposite side of Karura. He started absorbing the chakra Gaara gathered from the pool. As he absorbed the chakra, Karura started to channel her own chakra into his body, leaving nothing but the chakra pool's chakra. She became faint and collapsed over Gaara's body. Yondaime picked his wife up and nodded. She then turned the chakra she had left into lightning sparks on her hand and thrust it at Gaara's chest. Gaara was caught off guard and starting coughing up blood. Karura smiled at Yondaime.

"I will see you in the future, Gaara. Do everything you can to protect the ones you love. I will always be watching from deep down inside of you. I am here to protect you. Just remember son... I love you, Gaara." With her last words she kissed him on the forehead and got up and ran towards Shukaku, slipping through the cage bars and throwing her lightning chakra towards him at the same time. There was a slight light coming from the area she jumped into, but then it vanished. And so did Gaara.

* * *

"We found him! Get Baki! Get the medical unit over here!" One of the sand's Jonin yelled orders at the other Jonin with him. Baki rushed over to him with a few medical ninja.

"Gaara.. Gaara wake up damnit! Please Gaara! Don't die!"

"Hurry! His pulse is dropping! 5…4… Baki he's not going to make it!"

* * *

_Mother….Please don't leave…_


	3. Chapter 3

His pulse was dropping rapidly. Baki knew he was going to die. He thought back over the harsh memories of teaching the Sand Siblings. He liked Kankuro and Temari, but Gaara used to scare him. Now that Gaara proved his worth and became the Kazekage, Baki started to like Gaara. He still tried to boss him around but Gaara wouldn't have that. He felt bad for yelling at him all those times, to quit acting like a demon. He didn't realize how much his words affected the Kazekage. But now, now he knew. He felt like he knew everything about him. He leaned over his body and called out Gaara's name.

"Gaara! Gaara please get up! Don't leave the village like this! It's not your time!" He had an angry look on his face and he was screaming at him, but Baki was already mourning inside.

"He's not gonna make it! We have to get him back to the village RIGHT NOW!" The leader of the medical unit screamed at the other 2 medics, then Baki offered to carry Gaara back as fast as he could. He picked him up and thrust him over his shoulder and took off. He ran even faster than he ever imagined he could run.

_Come on Gaara stay with me. _

* * *

_Mother... Where did you go... _

_..._

_..._

_Mother... please come back..._

_..._

_Mother!_

Gaara was screaming in his head, searching frantically for his lost mother. He remembered everything that happened. His mother and his father were there. They looked happy. They were a family for once. And then his mother did something strange, she hurt Gaara. Why did she hurt him? How could Mother do that to him?

After looking everywhere for her, Gaara had given up. He cried. He finally had the love of his mother, and then she vanished. But wait...wasn't there someone else there? Someone else he loved? Oh yeah, that's right...his father... Where was he? Was he with Mother? He had to find them. He had to.

_Gaara. Gaara, it's your father. My soul was sent back with you. I can't stay for long, but I wanted to tell you to hang in there. Baki's bringing you back to the village. You need to stay strong until he gets you there. I love you, son. _

_F-Father? Where are you?_

He still couldn't see him. Everything was black. He couldn't see a thing, but he could hear. He heard voices. He heard trees moving and birds chirping. Slowly his conciousness came back to him and he felt like he could open his eyes again. He felt as though he was waking up from a bad dream. Was it a dream?

* * *

He felt Gaara stir. Looking over at him, Baki saw that Gaara's eyes had slowly opened. He was blinking alot, trying to realize he was awake now.

"G-Gaara!?"

"Baki..." His voice was no more than a whisper. He felt like he was dying. The poision had already spread through his body, but he didn't feel it anymore. He didn't feel the numbing pain of poision spreading through his veins. He just felt like he was going to die. Maybe he was just tired. Did his mother do this to him? Did she save him? Or did she make him worse?

"Hang in there, Gaara. We're almost there." In response to that, Gaara closed his eyes and fell asleep again. He was tired from crying.

* * *

"What's his condition?" Kankuro asked Temari as she read a letter that was flown to her via messenger bird. Everyone knew about the Kazekage's "accident" except for his two siblings, Kankuro and Temari. Now that they were being told, they stopped everything they were doing and rushed over to the medical building.

"They found him laying down next to big rock face, by a river. Apparently he was poisioned. The Akatsuki tried to take the demon from him, but it looks like Gaara wouldn't have that. They found small traces of poision in his blood, but it looked like most of it was drained. He did have severe blood loss, so maybe he bled out all the poision. But the message said he was okay. They gave us a number for his room, 34B. Let's hurry." Kankuro just nodded.

When they reached the hospital they ran straight to 34B and burst through the door.

"Gaara!" Temari called out to Gaara but he was asleep. He was dressed in nothing but a paper hospital robe. A white blanket was placed over him, but didn't go any higher than his waist. Multiple IV's were connected to his arms. He had an oxygen mask around his mouth. The heart rate moniter was showing low.

"How is he?" Kankuro forced himself to speak. Seeing his little brother like this for the first time broke his heart.

"Not very well. He can't breathe on his own and he's lost a tremendous amount of blood. He'll be in here for a while, no doubt about that." One of the nurses was preparing a syringe for Gaara. She tapped it and made some liquid spill out of it, then poked him with it in the arm and forced it into his veins.

"I see...but he's the Kazekage. What will happen to the village without him?" Temari swallowed hard, dreading the answer she knew was coming.

"That is up to the Elders. They'll probably appoint a new Kazekage." The nurse looked down at him sadly.

"No! That can't happen! Gaara worked so hard to become the Kazekage! You can't take that title from him!" Kankuro screamed at the nurse through heavy tears. He then stormed out of the room. The nurse sighed.

"I'm sorry for that. Thank you for taking care of my brother. I need to go talk to Kankuro now." Temari too seemed kind of pissed off at the fact of a new Kazekage. She felt the same way as Kankuro.

* * *

"I'm sorry but it will have to happen. We will have to appoint a new Kazekage. The village can't go without a leader, what would happen if war broke out while our Lord Gaara was in the hospital? What would we do then?" One of the Elders of Sunagakure spoke to the two oldest Sand Siblings.

"I see. But can't you appoint a temporary Kage? Where Gaara would return his position when he's out of the hospital?" Temari asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry but if young Gaara is unable to recover quickly, the knew Kazekage might appear greater than he. We would have to keep him as Kazekage, for the sake of the village." She spoke wisely. Both Kankuro and Temari thought she was right, but wouldn't admit it out loud. They both just looked down with sad eyes and replied "Alright."

"Now. Go get Baki for me. I must inform him that he is the new Kazekage."

"WHAT? BAKI?" Temari screamed out in protest, "Why HIM? He's never going to allow Gaara to become the Kazekage again!"

"Temari. Let's just do what Lady Elder says. We have no say in the matter..." Kankuro slowly walked out of the room, followed by a disappointed kunoichi. Kankuro started thinking to himself.

_I will stop this from happening no matter what. If I have to claim the spot as Kage just to reserve the spot for Gaara, I will. Gaara will become Kage again. I'll promise him that._

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_This made me tear up a little just writing it. It made me think of my brother, how if he became a Kage and lost the position, i would do anything i could to get it back for him. _

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. :) I'll be writing the next chapter within the week, so follow the story if you want more._


	4. Chapter 4

_"Hello son. Your brother and your sister are here, as well as your mother." _

_"Hi Father and Mother. Temari, Kankuro. What are you all doing here?" _

_"We just wanted to come say hi and see how you were doing. Gaara, you look terrible..."_

_"Karura, he's in the hospital. Look at him, you can see where the IV's are in his real body. The boy's having trouble breathing, too."_

_"Wh-What? The hospital?"_

_"Yes, Gaara. You're in the hospital. You're just dreaming. You can't wake up."_

_"No! I need to wake up! My people need me!"_

_"Hush now son, your father and your siblings are here. Aren't you happy we're all a family again?"_

_"Well yes but... You said this was just a dream? Since it's a dream it shouldn't matter, I just need to wake up and protect my village once again."_

_"But Gaara you're in a tremendous amount of pain right now. Physical pain, what you don't quite understand. Even if you were to wake up right now you wouldn't be able to move, let alone run a whole village."_

_"But.."_

_"Father! Mother! Don't leave! Shukaku stop, please! Don't kill them! PLEASE STOP!" _

* * *

"Baki, the Elders are requesting your presence." Kankuro said this in a monotone voice, extremely depressed but trying not to show it. After saying those simple words he left and continued to walk down the street with his eyes staring lifelessly at the hard ground in front of him. After turning the corner out of Baki's sight, Kankuro put up his hood and climbed up the building on the corner.

"Target clear." He spoke softly into his headset.

"_Alright, we move in 5 seconds." _Temari's voice came through Kankuro's headset with minimal static. Eyeing Baki like a hawk he started to pull out Crow and position him laying down next to him. Now all he had to do was wait.

* * *

_I wonder what the Elders need me for. _

Baki was just informed by Kankuro that the Elders wanted to speak with him. Kankuro didn't give him any details, and he seemed kind of depressed. Maybe it was cuz of Gaara being hospitalized? He decided to just go see the Elders and get it over with. He turned around and started down the sand road towards the Kazekage's office. Somehow he got turned around multiple times. It was like he forgot how to get there, even though the road he was on led straight to it. The street seemed endless. He stopped.

_What is this? _

It took him a while to catch on.

_Genjutsu? Who would put a genjutsu on me at this time? Is the enemy in the village?_

Bracing himself for no apparent reason, Baki looked around as he pulled out a kunai. He couldn't see anything. People walked by him like they normally would. They seemed to be fine. Someone he knew stopped him and asked him what was the matter, and Baki put his kunai away and said it was nothing.

_This genjutsu...it's...so realistic. I wonder if it's even a genjutsu._

He just kept walking, eventually breaking into a run but he got no where.

* * *

"Lady Elder, please allow me to take over the position as Kazekage until Gaara recovers! Please!" Kankuro stood before the Elders. He didn't think Lady Elder would accept his request, but it was worth a try.

"Sabaku no Kankuro. You are a great puppet master and could be worthy of becoming Kazekage, but I believe Baki would be a better Kage as he's the one who taught young Gaara everything he knows."

"No you're wrong! My father taught Gaara everything! He taught him how to manipulate the sand, all Baki did was give us orders and teach us how to not die by his own hand!" Kankuro yelled at the woman sitting before him. He didn't care if she was the wisest person in all of the village, he knew she was wrong.

"Now, now, Kankuro. Please calm down. I know you have a dream of becoming Kazekage like your brother, but sadly that position is not available to you. Now where is Baki? He should be here by now to claim the title."

"Stop it! You're all wrong! I don't want to become Kazekage. I want to keep the position for Gaara. I know Gaara will wake up soon. I promise you that, and he'll be ready as ever to take on whatever comes his way! He's the son of Yondaime Kazekage, he was meant to become the next Kage. Please Lady Elder. I'm begging you. Let Gaara keep the position. He worked so hard for it."

She thought about it for a while. She held a teacup in her hand. The tea was steaming, yet she sipped at it still. After a long time of thinking, she said:

"Alright. I will grant you the position of Kage. But you're only temporary. If Gaara isn't awake within the next 2 weeks, Baki will replace you as the permanent Kazekage." She sighed as she said this. Kankuro's face lit up.

"Thank you. So much." After bowing to her properly, Kankuro left the room. As soon as he walked out he walked straight into his sensei. He backed up and noticed the pissed off look in Baki's face.

"Uh, Baki sensei, are you alright..?" Immediately after seeing this he noticed his sister Temari right behind Baki, her hands tied up in chakra strings. Temari gave a sad look to her new Kazekage brother, but he gave a reassuring smile to her right back.

"It's alright, Temari. It worked." He whispered to her. Baki entered the room and left Kankuro and Temari waiting. When he left, he pounded Kankuro into the wall.

"KANKURO! Do you know what you just did! You're putting the village in danger! If an enemy attacks and war breaks out, you won't know what to do! You are not fit to be the Kazekage of the Sand Village! Reassign your position to me, right now!" Baki had never looked so pissed off in his entire life. Using Crow, Kankuro sedated Baki from behind and he fell to the ground. Still awake, Kankuro yelled back.

"As the new Kazekage, I am your boss now, sensei. Get out of here or there's no way you'll ever become Kazekage." His voice deepened and turned serious. Temari watched as her brother picked up her sensei, thrust him over his shoulder, easily cut the strings around her wrists, and walked out. She didn't quite know what to say. All she knew was, Kankuro was now apparently the Kazekage and the plan had worked.

* * *

Sitting in his younger brother's chair with his hat on, Kankuro looked out the window overlooking Sunagakure. The villagers were informed of the Kage change, and the conditions he was assigned. The young puppet master didn't realize how difficult Gaara's job was. He had an entire stack of papers on his new desk, waiting to be filled out. He thought to himself how he wished his brother would hurry up and wake up. It wasn't because he was already getting tired of his job, it was because he missed him. Not having Gaara around would have been a relief to him a year ago. Now.. He longed for his presence. After filling out about half the stack of papers, he got up and walked to the hospital.

"34B. He's in here." Kankuro took a deep breathe and then let it out. He was scared to see the condition his little brother was in. Slowly opening the door, Kankuro stepped inside and gasped at the sight. The nurse was laying on the ground, bleeding out. Gaara was standing up next to his bed, still connected to all of his IV's. He was covered in blood.

"Ka-nk-uro.." Gaara's eyes were wide and discoloured. He suddenly felt faint and his eyes change back to their normal blue. He closed them slowly and collapsed into a pool of blood below him.

"Gaara!" He rushed over and caught Gaara before he hit the ground. Picking his brother up carefully, he set him back on his red-streaked hospital bed and covered him up. He looked like he was asleep again. Kankuro didn't know what to think. He examined the nurse and saw claw marks on her neck and chest. She didn't have a pulse. He walked over to the heart rate monitor and went to it's history on Gaara's rates. He replayed and fastforwarded it. It was low, and then it stopped. Kankuro paused the video. He checked the time. It was 5:15 pm. The monitor said he died at 5:13 pm. He played the video again and the line was constant until the video hit 5:15 pm. Then his heart rate went up.

_What is going on here...Gaara...What did you do..._

He backed away from his brother slowly, and then ran out the door.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_I've been asked a few times why I always make Gaara so "scary". Well that's simple. His name is Gaara, which translates to "Self-loving Demon." He's a demon deep down inside. Every good person has their bad side. The Kazekage has Shukaku._


	5. Chapter 5

"Lord Gaara, are you feeling alright?" The nurse asked the boy in the hospital bed softly.

It was 3 weeks since the Godaime Kazekage, Gaara, went into a coma after being seriously injured by the Akatsuki and having chakra exhaustion. Alot happened since that day. His older brother Kankuro had become the temporary Rokudaime Kazekage, and the war between Baki and the Sand Siblings began. The Akatsuki attacked the Hidden Sand Village twice during those 3 weeks, and failed both times due to Lord Kankuro and Lady Temari's attack strategies and new defense barriers. Kankuro had proven to the people to be an alright Kazekage, but Lady Elder still didn't think so. Lady Elder had given him 2 weeks to be Kage, and if Gaara didn't wake up she would assign Baki as Kage. Gaara didn't wake up until 3 weeks later, so Baki replaced Kankuro as Rokudaime Kazekage and ran Kankuro out of the village. Temari was put under surveillance by Anbu Black Ops in case she decided to turn against the new Kazekage. Baki named Kankuro as a rogue ninja to Suna but the rest of the Kages didn't see him as a threat and left him to be dealt with by Suna unless Kankuro were to enter the other villages under the title of rogue. Then the other villages were allowed to capture him and return him to Sunagakure, where he would be dealt with.

"Yes, fine. What happened while I was asleep? I want to know every last detail." Gaara spoke in a slight whisper to the nurse. She lifted his bed so he could sit up, and he crossed his legs under the covers.

"I'm sorry Lord Gaara, but you are not the Kazekage anymore. Your brother tried to claim the title for his own and succeeded at first, but the Elders thought Baki would be a better Kage. Sabaku no Kankuro is now a rogue ninja." the nurse was preparing a shot for Gaara while she said this.

Gaara's eyes turned bloodshot. He took his eyes off the nurse and looked down at the blanket on top of him. He balled his hands into fists and closed his eyes tightly. When the nurse went over to inject him with the needle, she dropped the syringe at the sight of her former Kazekage crying tears of blood. The syringe shattered slowly, dramatically. She stared at him for a few seconds and then took a few steps back.

"I- I'm sorry...forgive me.." Gaara apologized and struggled to get out of his hospital bed. Shaking, he knelt to the ground and picked up the glass from the syringe. His hands were bloody from his tears and the glass was making cuts on his fingertips. The nurse dropped down to the floor and took the glass from him. She threw it away in the trash can in the corner and helped Gaara back onto his bed. She grabbed a cloth from the nearest cabinet and wet it, washing Gaara's hands free from blood. She also wiped his cheeks and threw the bloody cloth away.

Gaara watched as the nurse wrapped gauze around his hands and prepared another syringe. He allowed her to inject it in his arm. He was quiet. He didn't quite know what to say. When the nurse was done she dismissed herself from his room so he could get dressed and she could send for Temari. Gaara went to the bathroom to piss and wash off, and then got dressed. Grabbing his gourd he exited his room and walked slowly down the halls of the hospital until he ran into Temari and the nurse that helped him.

"Gaara! You're awake!" Temari ran to Gaara and hugged him tightly.

"Hello Temari. I know I just woke up - but we have a mission to do."

"I know. I've been waiting for this." Temari grinned and took Gaara's arm to help him walk. He was still a little dizzy from being in a coma for 3 weeks. They headed out of the hospital and to the Kazekage's office.

* * *

_When_ they arrived, Gaara was ready for a full fledged fight. Baki was sitting in _Gaara's_ chair at _Gaara's_ desk, filling out _Gaara's_ paperwork.

"Baki. I'm here to reclaim my position as Kazekage." He stumbled through the office door and glared at his sensei.

"Gaara. I see you finally woke up. How was your nap? It must've been great taking a vacation while your comrades were fighting for your life." Baki had his elbows up on the desk and his hands clasped together in front of his face. Gaara winced at Baki's remark.

"Shut up, Baki. Step down from your postion. I AM the Kazekage."

"Like I would resign my position as Kage to a little brat who can barely take care of himself, let alone a whole village. You're just a Jinchuuriki. That's all you'll ever be. A demon." Gaara blew up at the word "demon." He ran straight at his sensei with full force and a kunai in his right hand.

"No Gaara!" Temari ran in front of her little brother and knocked him down before he could get to Baki. "You can't!" She had a worried look on her face. Her eyes were wide. Gaara winced. He had landed on a piece of glass. He ripped it out and threw it on the ground then looked up and noticed one of the window panels was broken. He got up and looked down through the broken window. At the bottom was a cat hood and the leg of a puppet. He jumped down and picked up both pieces. Gaara's hatred toward Baki grew. Within an instant Gaara was back up in the office and holding Baki against the wall by his neck. His eyes were discoloured. Temari sensed the bloodlust within him. Before he knew it, Gaara had thrown Baki threw the broken window. While Baki was still falling, Gaara jumped and pounded him faster into the ground with a kick. Baki hit the ground hard and Gaara landed softly next to him.

Gaara was looking down at the ground below him while he was crouched next to Baki from the impact of the fall. His dark red ninja suit was flying in the wind and his sand poured out of his gourd. Temari ran down the stairs outside and watched from a short distance. She knew her younger brother wasn't done with Baki yet.

He looked up slightly and focused his eyes on Baki's. He was breathing hard and there was blood trickling from his mouth. The Jonin was seriously injured. Gaara closed his eyes.

"Baki. I learned something from Leaf Jonin a while back. This particular shinobi is a great one. He is called the Copy Ninja. He once told me that the younger generation will always surpass the previous one. And today I will prove that. Today the disciple kills his sensei." Gaara opened his eyes quickly and glared at Baki. "That's how it's supposed to be... in the world of the shinobi."

And with that, Baki was killed quickly. Gaara picked up the Kazekage's hat that had fallen off of Baki. He put it on proudly and turned to Temari.

"Mission part 1 complete. Now for part 2." Gaara started to walk towards the Elders main building. He was about to declare Baki dead and officially reclaim his position. If the plan succeeded they'd hunt for their brother. Temari knew the hunt would be to bring him back and tell him he's not rogue anymore. But Gaara had something else in mind.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Sorry it took me so long to post it! I've been busy with school and everything. I would've made it longer but I'm exhausted. I'll try to write the next chapter soon. This one will be a bit long. It most likely won't go over 10 chapters though._

_Also, I'm thinking about making some fictions about Naruto and Hinata, and Deidara and Kaoru (my OC from TSOS). But I want to finish up this one first. I'll try to post it soon._

_-kaoru_


	6. Chapter 6

They arrived at the Elders' building shortly after leaving the Kazekage's office. Gaara knocked on the wooden door to the Elders' office softly and heard "enter" as a reply. They set their weapons next to the door and then opened it and walked in calmly.

"Ah, Lord Gaara. You are awake." Lady Elder was sitting crosslegged on a green tatami mat behind a short glass table. She had a light blue teacup in her right hand and a fan with blue designs in her left. She motioned to Gaara and Temari to sit down. They kneeled onto the mats and leaned back to sit on their feet.

"Lady Elder, I've heard that my position as Kazekage has been taken over by Baki-sensei. I am sorry to inform you that Lord Baki is now dead. Because of his sudden death, I would like to be re-assigned as Kazekage. Please accept my offer. Temari is here to recommend me as well." Gaara was looking at the ground in front of him while he said this, careful not to look Lady Elder in the eye. Temari did the same thing out of respect.

"I see. Temari, what do you have to say about this?"

"Lady Elder, I would also like to recommened my younger brother Gaara as Kazekage. He has proven in the past to be worthy of the position, as it has only been 3 weeks since he was injured and his position was resigned. Baki-sensei is now dead and we need a Kazekage once again. Please accept my offer." Temari spoke softly but loud enough for the Elder to hear.

"Temari. Gaara. You both seem to know how Baki died. Please do tell." She waved her fan and sipped at her tea.

"He fell from the top of the office. We are not sure if it was accidental, suicide, or if he was pushed. I noticed the broken window in the office and jumped down to see. He was barely alive. He told me to end it for him, Baki-sensei was in too much pain. I wasn't going to deny him. So I killed him quickly to end his suffering." Gaara looked up at Lady Elder as he said this. Temari nodded, and the Elderly woman thought about this for a long time.

"Alright. We will have the Medical Division see how he really died. Gaara, I assign you as Godaime Kazekage once again. The villagers will be informed of the change and you will see to your work right away. You are dismissed." Lady Elder sighed and went back to sipping at her tea and waving her fan.

"Thank you, Lady Elder." Gaara and Temari bowed to her close to the ground and got up and left.

"Mission part 2 successful. Now for part 3." Temari smiled and hugged her brother. Gaara replied with a half smile. They grabbed their weapons, strapped them on, and headed out. They went straight to the Jonin Station and requested for the window to be repaired and the news of the Kazekage change be sent to everyone in the village and in other lands. The assigned Jonins nodded and left the station. The sand siblings also exited the station, and then the village.

* * *

_Search For Kankuro_

The two siblings flew swiftly through the trees. They had brought a sensory-type nin along with them, named Michiyo. He had sand coloured hair like Karura and bright red eyes due to his uncommon dojutsu. He wore a simple grey kimono with bandages covering his arms and legs.

"Michiyo, can you find him?" Temari asked the sensory-type nin.

"Vaguely. He left no trail from the village, but i can barely see his chakra. It looks like someone is with him. A water elemental, it seems. I can't-" Michiyo gasped. "Hurry! The water-type nin is attacking him!" They went faster through the trees until they reached the battle scene. When they finally arrived, Kankuro had taken out the water-type. The enemy's corpse lay tattered on the ground in front of a panting Kankuro. Temari rushed to his side to see if he was okay, but he pushed her away.

"K-Kankuro!" Temari was confused.

"Stay away!" Kankuro pulled out a kunai and stepped back from her. "I'm not doing anything to betray the village! Leave me alone!"

"Kankuro, put down the kunai." Gaara jumped down behind Temari and Michiyo followed, landing by his side. Gaara picked Temari up and moved her behind him.

"G-Gaara? You're out of the hospital?" Kankuro smiled a little. "That's great! Have you reclaimed your position yet?"

"Yes, brother. I am the Kazekage once again. But.." Gaara pulled out a kunai of his own and tackled Kankuro to the ground. The puppet master blocked the attack. Gaara was now laying ontop of Kankuro, kunais together.

"What are you doing Gaara!" Kankuro growled. He was still tired from the last fight, and now this?

"You tried to take over my position as Kage, brother. You think you're better than me?" He slammed his head into the ground. "Well you're not! You will never be good enough to be Kazekage!" Shukaku was acting up again. Gaara's eyes were discoloured, and Kankuro knew what was going on from past experience.

"Gaara! What are you doing! That's not the plan!" Temari jumped in to stop Gaara from driving a hidden kunai into Kankuro's throat, but she was intercepted. Someone got there first. Sand coloured hair, dark brown eyes. The woman wore a yellow scarf around her neck.

* * *

Temari had tears in her eyes when she realized who was in front of her. She had a shocked expression on her face. She crumbled to the ground and stared at her with her mouth open. Kankuro and Gaara were looking up at her with the same facial expression. Kankuro felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned around. Auburn hair, dark brown eyes.

"Kankuro...Temari..." Karura hugged her oldest son tightly. She motioned for Temari, who gladly ran over and embraced her mother and younger brother. Yondaime Kazekage helped Gaara sit up and embraced him and the rest of his family.

"Mother, Father, what are you doing here? How are you here?" Kankuro stared at them in disbelief. Temari was speechless.

"It's your brother's jutsu." Karura nodded to Gaara.

"Ugh! Genjutsu! Damnit Gaara! What the hell is your problem? This is how you treat me now? It's torture Gaara!" Kankuro pushed his parents aside and walked away, crying hard.

"Come back here, son, this isn't genjutsu. I'll explain it to you." Yondaime Kazekage spoke to his son and he walked back to the place of reunion and they all sat down in a circle. Kankuro apologized to Gaara for exploding on him like that, and Gaara also apologized to Kankuro for attacking him. It was getting dark so Yondaime Kazekage lit a fire for light and covered his wife and daughter with his robe.

"Now, Gaara. You have Shukaku, the 1 tails, inside of you. You possess your own powers but you also possess Shukaku's powers. When we met the last time your mother made a sacrifice. It was a very hard thing to do, but she did it for you."

"What kind of sacrifice?" Gaara spoke softly.

"She gave up her ninja powers to keep you alive. Your mother can no longer be a shinobi." Gaara looked down when his father said this. He felt sad because of it. "But she has accepted that already." Karura nodded.

"Gaara, love, don't worry about me. All that matters to me anymore are you kids, and your father. Nothing else is important." Karura gave a warm smile to Gaara and Kankuro. She held on tightly to Temari under her husband's robe. Temari's face was buried in her chest and Karura's chin was resting on Temari's head.

"Your brother's tailed beast knows a jutsu called Edo Tensei. It is a reanimation ninjutsu. The user must have the DNA of the person they want to reanimate and a sacrifice. That is all that is needed for the jutsu. That's why it is forbidden. Shukaku used this jutsu to call out to us and help you, Gaara. Once we were done we found our way back to you in the real world." Yondaime Kazekage explained everything that happened and how the jutsu worked. When he was done speaking, everyone was quiet for a few minutes until Temari asked the question the three shinobi have been wanting to ask.

"So what will we do now, Mother? Father?" Temari asked.

"Return to the village, I suppose. Though it'll be difficult trying to explain to everyone how we're alive, ha ha." Karura laughed. Yondaime Kazekage stood up and everyone got up except for Gaara. His father smiled and offered him his hand but Gaara just stared at it.

_Father, Mother, Kankuro, Temari and I a family once again... Me being the Kazekage. Having a family. All i've ever wanted is starting to come true. I just can't believe they're actually here. Mother, how I've missed you..._

_Gaara, I've been there for you ever since you were a small child. I gave you my defenses and the ability to manipulate sand. And now I've given you your parents back. I've done all I could for you. I don't know why I cared for you, Gaara. To me you should've been just another one of my hosts. But you weren't. Maybe it was because I've been through the same pain that you have. You are a Jinchuuriki. I am a Tailed Beast. Nothing will change that but death. And so it is my time to go, Gaara. Take care of your parents and village. I will leave you my chakra. But just remember one thing.. Do not look back to the past. Start a new life here with your parents. Whatever choices you make now will effect you for the rest of your life. Be careful, Gaara. Goodbye, my host..._

_Thank you, Shukaku. For everything..._

And with that, Gaara reached up and accepted his father's hand. He followed his parents and siblings back to his village where he would continue his reign as Kazekage.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_So that was it, the last chapter. I had written a bunch more but my internet screwed up and made me lose everything..I tried to just shorten the part I lost as much as I could. Sorry :P _

_Anyway. Do you guys think this would've been a better ending rather than Gaara dying and losing Shukaku, then being revived once again? It would've been nice to know Gaara could meet his mother and father again like Naruto got to do. It would make me happy knowing that. :) That's why I wrote it. And don't ask me where Michiyo went, I just used him as a supporting character to find Kankuro xP I actually named him after my cat Michiyo, haha. But let's just say he was hiding when he saw Karura pop out of nowhere and was watching the entire scene, and decided not to interfere. _

_So I hope you all enjoyed this story. I will never forget writing it, it gave me alot of feels for Gaara... It could have been better, I know, but all of you who did enjoy it and took the time to read it, thanks for that. I'm obviously a little new to the website so with all the views this story's gotten and reviews (even though most were from the same person), i really appreciate everything. _

_I'll be thinking of new ideas soon, so follow me if you haven't already (if you want more.) _

_Thanks!_

_-kaoru_


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